The government has published a key document in the creation of a single portal for people to manage their retirement income.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched a consultation titled Pensions dashboards: consultation on the draft pensions dashboards regulations 2022.
According to the DWP, this represents a “significant” step towards the realisation of the long-awaited dashboard, setting out draft regulations on the key duties for occupational pension schemes to participate. It will run the consultation for six weeks until Sunday 13 March.
The secondary legislation eventually laid out will introduce duties on occupational schemes to connect into the pensions dashboards ecosystem, receive find requests, undertake matching, register pension identifiers for any found pensions and to return pension information in response to requests.
In addition, the duties of dashboard providers have been set out. These include presenting the pensions information that occupational schemes and the DWP return to dashboards in accordance with Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) design standards.
The draft regulations make provision for mandatory standards associated with pensions dashboards, delegating authority to the PDP to set them.
Paul McGlone, former president of the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP), said: “This consultation covers a number of key areas where further clarity is urgently needed, but rather than jump to conclusions, the industry needs time to digest what has been proposed.
"The industry is already working closely with the PDP and the DWP on dashboards, and the publication of new material today will help that work to progress.”
Karl Lidgley, client manager for third-party administration at Hymans Robertson, added that the pensions dashboard would be a “transformational” event to support UK savers for retirement.
“As well as reuniting people with their lost pensions, it will enable far more effective, personalised guidance to give savers the support they need for the best possible retirement," he said.
"We know times are hard for people and as an industry we must do everything we can to maximise every possible penny people will have for retirement."
Rolling out the pensions dashboard was rated equal with addressing climate change as the joint biggest priorities for SPP members this year, a survey revealed this month.
